Rack for refrigerators



R. P. CONSIDINE RACK FOR REFRIGERATORS July 26, 1938 Filed Feb. 4, 19362 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 26, 1938. R. P. 'CONSIDINE 2,125,000

RACK FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed Feb. 4, 1956 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 lama?Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED STATES RACK FOR REFRIGERATORS IowaApplication February 4, 1936, Serial No. 62,323

4 Claims.

This invention is directed to a rack for use in a refrigerator or otherplace of storage for foods or like commodities, and is intended toprovide for the travel of bottles, cans or similar containers, byprogressive stages from the front to the rear of the refrigerator andback to the starting point, so that, as new bottles or cans areintroduced into the rack for cooling, the entire procession of bottlesor cans will be moved around the rack, and those previously introducedwill travel to the starting point for removal. This arrangement providesfor the easy introduction or removal of bottles or cans containingbeverages or the like, and utilizes the refrigerating space tofthefullest degree, which is frequently impossible under ordinarycircumstances where jars, cans or other containers are usually crowdedinto place in the front of the refrigerator, thereby interfering withaccess to the rear and to the 20 more inaccessible portions of therefrigerator.

The use of the device furthermore insures that in regular use thebottles or cans will be thoroughly cooled before removal, since suchcontainers will be removed in the same order or sequence in which theyare introduced into the refrigerator, thereby insuring against theremoval of partially cooled containers.

Further objects and details will appear from a description of theinvention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure1 is a perspective of the rack of the present invention;

' Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same;

1 Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate form of rack;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation; and

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

The rack of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive comprises a main frame H) which ispreferably formed of a continuous section of wire bent to affordrearwardly inclined upper side rails II, which are downturned at theirfront ends at a slightly acute angle to afford vertical front standardsI2 connected by a transverse front base section l3, and the side railsat their rear ends are connected by 50 an upper rear cross bar section I4.

The main frame is supported near its rear end by a continuously formedrear standard comprising side posts l5 which are secured at their upperends to the side rails II and are connected at their lower ends by arear base rail I6 having formed therein a pair of upwardly struckoffsets The vertical front standards i 2 of the main frame are providedwith upper and lower cross bars l8 and l 9 respectively, the upper barserving as a guard. rail and. the lower bar affording support for thefront ends of upper track rails 20, which stand in spaced relation toone another and furnish an inclined upper trackway for the bottles,cans, or other containers. The rear ends of the track rails aresupported upon a rear cross bar 2! having its ends secured to the postsl5 at a proper elevation to afford the desired incline.

The rear standard is located sufficiently in advance of the rear crossbar it of the main frame to provide for the rolling over and down of thecylindrical receptacles delivered from the upper trackway, which thusmove on to a lower trackway comprising inclined track rails 22 which areupwardly curved at their rear portions 23 and have their ends secured tothe cross bar I4.

The lower track rails 22 are supported immediately in advance of theircurved rear ends upon the offsets I! and are supported near theirforward ends upon the cross bar i3, and as shown the two lower trackrails are formed of a continuous section of Wire, and are connected attheir front ends by bending the wire to afford upright sections 24 and across guard section 25.

The lower track rails are located inwardly from the sides of the frame,and in order to prevent lateral displacement and to afford additionalrigidity to the structure, side guard rails 26 are provided which aresecured at a higher elevation directly to the front standards i2 and therear posts (5 and have their ends 21 upturned to make connection withthe side rails H of the main frame near the rear ends thereof.

The receptacles, which may be in the form of bottles or cans ofcylindrical configuration, are first placed upon the upper inclinedtrackway and roll down thereon and around the rear curving trackway andupon the lower trackway until they arrive at the point of removal, atwhich point they are arrested by the guard rail 25. After the rack hasbeen filled with the intended number of bottles or cans, the entireprocession bottles to the upper track, the continuity of the processionwill be maintained and the bottles removed as required, with theassurance that those removed have been subjected to cooling actionwithin the refrigerator for the longest period of time.

The rack construction shown in Figs. to 8 inclusive is intended for asimilar purpose, but in this instance the procession of bottles or cansmoves in a horizontal line from the point of introduction to theadjacent point of removal, the advance of the procession being reversedat the rear end of the rack.

The rack includes a main frame 28 having upper side rails 29 and 36 witha connecting curved rear section 36. It is' preferred to incline theupper rails 29 and 30 and the connecting section 3! by a continuousinclination, so that the rack will be higher on the receiving end,illustrated at the rear in Fig. 5, than at the discharge end. The siderails 29 and 3e are downturned at their forward ends to afford frontstandards 32 and 33 respectively, the standard 32 necessarily beinghigher than the standard 33. The standards are connected by a front basesection 34.

The space between the side rails 29 and 30 is divided by a partitionformed of a continuous section of wire bent to afford a top rail 35 andfront and rear vertical standards 36 and 31' respectively. The siderails are supported near their rear ends by a wire standard. comprisingvertical posts 38 and 39 and a cross base section 45.

The cans or bottles standing vertically are supported upon a single basetrack 4| formed of a continuous section of wire bent to provide tracksections 42 and 43 respectively, with a curved connecting rear section44, the base track being continuously inclined from a higher level onthe receiving side to a lower level on the discharging side.

In order to afford support for the front end of the base track section42, and also to provide a guard at the discharging end of the runway, across bar 45 is provided, which is connected at its ends to the frontstandards 32 and 33, and connected at an intermediate point to the frontvertical section 36 of the partition member.

In order to prevent lateral displacement of the upstanding cans orbottles, a continuous side guard member is provided, comprising siderail sections 46 and 41 and a curved rear connecting section 48. Theside guard member is continuously inclined to follow the inclination ofthe side members 29 and 30 of the main frame. Support for the base trackmember 4| is afforded by cross bars 49 and 50 arranged at differentlevels, and connected at their outer ends respectively to the posts 33and 38 and at their inner ends to the upstanding section 31..

The cans or bottles standing vertically are introduced at the far sideof the rack as viewed in Fig. 5, and are forced rearwardly inprocessional form and around the curving rear portion of the track andthence forwardly to the discharging position where they are arrested bythe cross guard rail 45. The inclination of the base rail M at the rearturn serves to tilt. the upstanding bottles, as shown in Fig. 8, andthis assists in overcoming the increased friction at the point where thedirection of movement is reversed and the procession is directedforwardly.

In both of the forms above described, the structure of the rack is onewhich renders it' firm and rigid and capable of holding a fullcomplement of cans or bottles without bending or Warping. At

aleaooo the same time the rack is rectangular in its generalconfiguration, so that it will readily fit into the refrigerator withoutwaste of space and serve to cool the bottles of beer or other beveragein condition for removal from time to time as occasion may requirewithout interfering with the manipulation of other articles of foodelsewhere located within the refrigerator.

The construction of the rack in either form is one which brings thepoint of removal of the .articles into contiguous relation to the pointwhere they are introduced, and the general structure of the rack ofeither form is such as to provide for the travel of the cans or bottleswithout wasting any appreciable amount of space, since all of the cansor bottles composing the procession are maintained in closely contiguousrelation to one another.

I claim:

1. A storage rack affording a trackway for the progressive movement ofcylindrical articles, comprising a continuous frame having upper sidebars and arear cross connection and downturned at its forward end toafford front standards and a connecting front base section, a rearsupporting member having upstanding posts connected to the side bars andbeing connected at their lower ends by a base section, a cross barextending between the front standards, a cross bar extending between therear posts, upper track rails having their front and rear ends supportedon the front and-rear cross bars respectively, and

lower track rails below the upper track rails and having their rear endsupcurved below and behind the rear cross bar and connected to the rearcross connection of the frame and configured to transfer cylindricalarticles from the upper track rails to the lower track rails.

2. A storage rack of the character described affording a trackway forthe progressive movement of cylindrical articles, comprisinga'continuous frame having upper side bars and a rear cross connectionand downturned at" its. forward end to afford front standards and aconnecting front base section, a rear supporting member havingupstanding posts connected to the side bars and being connected at theirlower ends by a base section having upstanding offsets formed therein, across bar extending between the front standards, a cross bar extendingbetween the rear posts, upper track rails having their front and rearends supported on the front and rear cross bars respectively, and lowe'rtrack rails below the upper track rails and having their rear endsupcurved below and behind the rearcross 3. A rack of the characterdescribed affording a trackway for the progressive movement ofcylindrical articles, comprising a continuous frame having upper sidebars and a rear cross connection and downturned at its forward end toafford front standards and a connecting front base section, a rearsupporting member having upstanding posts connected tothe side bars andbeing connected at their lower ends by a base section, a cross barextending between the front standards, a cross bar extending between therear posts, upper track rails having their front and rear ends supportedon the front and rear cross bars, and lower track rails below the uppertrack rails and having their rear ends upcurved below and behind therear cross bar and connected to the rear cross connection of the frameand configured to transfer cylindrical articles from the upper trackrails to the lower track rails, the front ends of the lower track railsbeing supported upon the front base section and being upturned and crossconnected to afford an elevated guard member to block the advance of theprocession at the point of removal of articles.

4. A rack of the character described affording a trackway for theprogressive movement of cylindrical articles, comprising a continuousframe having upper side bars and a'rear cross connection and downturnedat its forward end to afford front standards and a connecting front basesection, a rear supporting member having upstanding posts connected tothe side bars and being connected at their lower ends by a base sectionhaving upstanding offsets formed therein, a cross bar extending betweenthe front standards, a cross bar extending between the rear posts, uppertrack rails having their front and rear ends supported on the front andrear cross bars respectively, and lower track rails below the uppertrack rails and having their rear ends upcurved below and behind therear cross bar and connected to the rear cross connection of the frameand configured to transfer cylindrical articles from the upper trackrails to the lower track rails, the lower track rails being supported attheir front ends upon the connecting front base section of the frame andbeing supported in advance of the upcurving rear portion thereof uponthe upstanding offsets formed in the base section of the rear supportingmember to afford an incline for the lower track rails, the front ends ofthe lower track rails being upturned and cross connected to afford anelevated guard member to block the advance of the procession at thepoint of removal of articles.

R. P. CONSIDINE.

